The Growth Guide

Entrepreneurs are nothing if not flexible. By nature, business owners are quick on their feet, regularly implementing new and creative solutions. This flexibility is a significant strength and should also be applied to your brand messaging. As a steward of your brand, you need to be able to pivot, follow trends, and remove outdated strategies.

Your brand is a living part of your business. Just as you change and adapt to the times, so should your empire!

Maybe you have started noticing your brand strategy is outdated. Have you been feeling unmotivated? Have you had to change up your offerings? Or perhaps you’ve experienced one

of these things:

• Your sales are slipping (this is a sign that people aren’t listening anymore!)
• Your audience changing
• Your messaging feeling inconsistent or uninspiring

As an intuitive marketer with over a decade of experience, I’ve been there before! Changing your brand strategy can feel daunting, but I promise a change to your look and feel will leave you motivated while also boosting your sales.

Ready for some tips on pivoting your brand messaging and ensuring your focus is fresh, relevant, and engaging your audience? Let’s look at the steps you can take to ensure your brand works like a well-oiled machine.

Conduct an audit

Start by taking a look at your brand and addressing what needs fixing. What’s not working? Take your emotions and attachments out of the picture.

Then, use a checklist to run through your brand’s pieces to ensure everything works together.

Make it a goal to involve your team here as well. What do those working for you see? They’ll be able to provide a unique perspective on your business and its story, letting you know what they think needs to change.

And don’t forget to consider what you already love about your brand. You know the parts you want to keep. What aspects of your brand style, voice, and look are authentic to what you are trying to offer?

Take a look at your tone

The first step to understanding your tone is to figure out what you want people to perceive when interacting with your brand. Brainstorm a list of adjectives you want people to describe you as. Does your current brand sound like this? If not, it might be time to change up your voice.

Once you have this tone nailed down, keep those adjectives on hand! Owning a brand guide with these adjectives and style guidelines will ensure all of your team members are on the same page when creating content for your ideal clients.

Revamp your visuals

A visual refresh is the most impactful and noticeable to those you are trying to reach.

A visual refresh may mean a new color palette or a new logo. Play around with this! New typography or design aesthetics may inspire you in ways you didn’t first expect.

If you haven’t had photos or headshots taken in a while, it might also be time to schedule a business photoshoot! Updated photos of yourself and your team are a great way to show up for your audience.

Don’t be afraid to be transparent with this refresh. Celebrate your new look online and on social media. Brands that resonate aren’t scared to show the reality of running a business – changes included!

Clean up your deliverables

Clean up anything with your logo, colors, or brand name to match your new look. If you’re handing out business cards, emailing welcome packets, or even sending out surveys, look at these. All of your templates and products should be refreshed!

A list of deliverables you use is another good addition to your brand guide. Make a note of the deliverables you offer to ensure you understand what needs updating as you change up your brand.

This is also an excellent time to look at each specific deliverable. Are there things that aren’t working? What about items that need to be added?

Keep in mind a brand refresh is not a one-and-done process. So how can you make the process smoother for you and your team the next time an update is required? This detailed list of deliverables will make things easier when you tackle your next brand update.

Analyze your marketing strategies

A complete brand refresh means looking at your entire brand, including how you promote it. An essential part of this is making sure you reach the right audience for your service or product.

Which social media platforms are you using? Specific demographics flock to different channels. Are you hitting the right audience? Are you providing the right content for each platform?

Instagram is visual and heavily video-focused, while Facebook might be a better spot for a blog post or survey. Email newsletters offer a chance for your brand voice to shine in an extended form of written content.

Take stock of how you promote your business, from lead generation tactics to networking opportunities. What needs refreshing? What needs to be cut? Is there a channel that needs more attention? Make a list and get to the root of your efforts so you clearly understand how to move forward.

Refine your story

Your personal story is a massive part of your brand. Think about the one you’re telling and what your life is like now. Chances are, it’s different than when you started your business, so consider incorporating a few new anecdotes and elements.

Updating your story will showcase how far you have come and help build trust between you and your audience. We have all faced struggles in business and life. So how can your brand be a guide for those struggling now?

Rollout and implement

Now that you have reviewed every piece of your brand strategy, it’s time to start rolling it out! Implementation is the fun part. But remember that significant changes don’t happen overnight. Take your time implementing each piece to ensure you build a business you truly love!

Building your brand guide as you work through this refresh will make the rollout smooth and straightforward. You have thought through each area of your brand story and reviewed everything that needs changing. But, most importantly, you know the why behind these changes You understand that each component is changing for the better and helping your business grow.

A brand refresh is not only a way to keep up with trends but to continue to provide the best and most authentic you to your customers. Authenticity is the most powerful tool you have as an entrepreneur, so use it!

Stay adaptable and get ready for a refresh

You have spent countless hours creating a business, and you deserve a brand that represents it well. A brand refresh is an excellent way to ensure your business grows and reaches the right audience. Messages that resonate with the wrong audience won’t get you anywhere!

As an entrepreneur, remember to keep your strategies fresh, adapting as needed. While taking on a complete brand refresh can seem overwhelming, staying stagnant won’t help you or your business grow. If you are feeling stuck, I get it! But a refresh is exactly what you need to reignite your spark.

Building a thriving business from the ground up is not easy – especially without support and guidance from someone who has been there before. Together, we can look at why you might be feeling stuck, breaking down barriers so you can build an abundant business and life.

You deserve a brand that makes you excited to get up in the morning! If your work starts to drain you, it might be time for more support and insight. So let’s chat about how to focus your energy in the right direction to reach your goals. You already have the power to bring your dreams to life – my team is here to make sure you get there!